Riding around my car yesterday, I happened to be at a red light when my eye caught a caravan of two work vehicles in front of me. Something about them was not quite right.
The backs of the trucks seemed too...busy.
It's only when I got home that I realised JUST how busy, and indeed, unsafe, these vehicles were. You could look at these photographs for hours, and I guarantee you you will find a new, and rather startling detail!
For example, the drivers are from Indiana, at least according to their licence plates.
But I wonder if the International Brotherhood Of Electrical Workers would love their untethered Igloo cooler, insouciantly perched on the back without any tie-downs whatsoever? That thing is one sharp stop away from breaking someone's windshield, if they're lucky.
And what are those wire thingies on the hooks, as they swing wildly from side-to-side even in a full stop?? They look like a Puerto Rican hooker with noserings, having the crap slapped out of her.
One has gotta love the "caution" tape to the left-side of the truck, which someone thought would be a good idea to put in an outside garbage hold, completely incompatible with the word "caution".
And then, my absolute favourite, is this.
Welcome to Florida you hard-working blue-collar electrician you. Now do something about that road hazard truck of yours, before Coral Gables police throws you into the pokey.
IN THE COMMENTS: Most Sundries commenters think I am way overreacting at the potential for damage. The cheek!
Good pal, Madcynic, says:
TBH, the laws of physics dictate that it would need a sudden acceleration for the cooler to crash into someone's windshield. And somehow this thing does not look like an Audi 5000.
Hmm. My mother always told me Audis were for nouveaux riches, so I wouldn't know, Maltinho. Point taken about the physics, though!
Chickenlittle remarks that they're maybe already on the lam.
Maybe those guys are running from the law, like R. Dean Taylor sang about.
Whereas JAL injects a little Obama drama into the proceedings.
And just how fast would that truck have to be going to dislodge the cooler? If it were in an accident the cooler would not be the problem.
Chill.
Like the rest of the continental US seems to be doing in deference to the Great One's upcoming coronation.
Ack. This reminds me I must hibernate until at least Wednesday.
A rather religious day on Sundries continues, as I remind everyone today is Epiphany (and Los Dias de los Reyes in Spain, when all kids receive presents in honour of the Magis' gifts to baby Jesus).
Since the 5th of January marks my beloved maternal grandmother's death anniversary, I normally go to church two days running this time of the year.
And as in most churches around America, Miami's Roman Catholic churches still have their outdoor cribs very much in evidence.
I went inside the church, attended the Mass said in my Oma's name, and then as we were heading back -- what do we encounter coming out of one of the modest homes around the area?
A brand-new yellow Lamborghini Murcielago.
Sure, in South Beach they are a dime-a-dozen, and I don't even blink anymore. But not in Silver Bluff!
The Reyes must've been especially generous to a lucky someone this year. Just as my grandmother was unbelievably generous to me the whole of my life.
So in her name, I wish you all a very blessed Epiphany.
Not being a smoker, I have no earthly idea if these prices are cheap as chips for a carton of ciggies, or if they're just average.
I leave it to my smoking Sundries' readers to enlighten us.
BACKGROUND: I took this photo at a super-cheap, no-name gas station in the far side of the boonies. One more step, and I'd have been in the Keys, capiche.
Now, I don't know how inexpensive premium gas is around you, but this was the cheapest price I have found in SoFla. $1.79 per gallon. Woo!
I don't think I recall prices this cheap since at least Gulf War Part 1.
ADDENDUM: Oh snap. Half a carton? I had no idea Americans did that here. In South America, street vendors open up a pack, and sell the cigarettes individually at a 50% markup each. That I always found very clever, as well as rather sad.
I was passing along a side street when I chanced on this tourism agency which I think caters to a certain type of clientele. They not only offer the "Gertrude Stein Tour to France", but also the "Brokeback Mountain Experience".
Tent included.
Incidentally, you know the last actor to win the supporting Oscar posthumously? It was Australian Peter Finch for that iconic performance in "Network" -- "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not taking it anymore!".
I think he'll be joined in the ranks of the Oscar-possessors by his fellow Aussie up in heaven, Heath Ledger.
Do you have cars dressed in Christmassy themes where you live too? I hover between amusement and calling the guys in the white shirts to haul the owners away.
This post could easily have been entitled, "You Know You're In Florida When..." and filled in with whatever comical crocodile reference you wished. 'Cause just thinking of crocs is funny. Not these crocs below, though I grant you, those are funny as in "ludicrous ridiculous pathetic" funny.
I give you, exhibit A. And exhibit W.
I mean, Jack, yes. He's so gone on coke most of the time, he probably doesn't know who dresses him, let alone what his feet are shod in. But the President of the Freaking United States?!
Oh, right. Moving on.
As you can see, we take our long, scaly lizards very seriously here in the State of Florida.
Gone are the days when Janet Reno's mother used to 'rassle' gators in the Redlands, near Homestead, and then host her biddy friends for afternoon tea (no, really, she did. Reno tells the story during the rubber chicken circuits). If anyone outside of the Miccosukee tribe tried that now, they'd be hauled away, Elian-style.
I suppose it's a comfort to know that officialdom are looking out for the crocs, and are adamant no one should molest them, to use the Spanish term. I'm not sure how anyone could without serious bodily harm coming to them, but there we are.
This was taken way over in Pinecrest, where crocs are seen everywhere -- as Fendi handbags.
Right next door is a faux-Art Deco Burger King, which I've shown on Sundries before. Here is its next door neighbour, the neon-lit Maclee Quarters at night.
It is buildings like this in South Beach, that instantly turn on that Miami Vice soundtrack in our minds.
I actually had a cup of authentic Turkish coffee in a Sephardic Kosher deli the other day -- delicious. Look at the sludge formed by the grounds as they rest at the bottom of the snowy white cup.
It's actually a metaphor for life in such environs. On the surface, dazzling and exotic, quick to intrigue, quicker to charm, but at the bottom, it's all sediment and gunk.
It takes a strong person to be able to like such coffee. And I am that person.
UPDATED: Using a paint programme, I inverted the colours and used an artistic rendering to soften the photograph.
At a local bookstore: the books display just before the Presidential election.
I was going to buy a book there on entering (a specific translation of The Prince by Machiavelli), but I left without doing so. Business and political bias do not mix. I refuse to be insulted, and then to cough up my hard-earned money for the privilege.
To anyone who has been following my blog since August 29th, you know just how intensely I have been writing about the trajectory of Governor Sarah Palin.
After she failed to make a campaign appearance in Miami, and her ticket lost the presidential election, I thought it would be ages until I saw her in person. It was akin to withdrawal, though I wouldn't go so far as to say it depressed me.
To my slight astonishment, then, the week after the presidential election saw a continued burgeoning interest in the Governor -- if anything, given that she was now calling her own shots, minus the leash of Camp McCain, she was suddenly everywhere.
Then, in one of the most unbelievable strokes of luck that I've had in my life (and I confess that I have been unbelievably blessed, for which I thank God very humbly), it was confirmed that the Governor would be attending the Republican Governors Association at the Hotel Intercontinental, no more than 5-10 minutes away from my home.
I knew this opportunity could not be passed up.
So I gathered up my courage, and sans press pass (though a blogger colleague had kindly offered his), I went to the Hotel early in the morn, and with the self-assurance that I was born with, went past the two Miami police officers closely guarding the barriers into the Hotel. After valet parking my car, once inside, no one bothered me.
Here are tips to anyone wanting to crash one of the hottest events in town.
Dress very well. Be polite. But walk in like you own the joint. Also, don't ask too many questions. Pretend you know what you are doing, and suspicion is lessened. This has served me well the whole of my life, and you would be surprised just the types of people I have met using these suggestions.
I went up one of the two escalators, in a hotel I had been to several times before (knowing the layout certainly helped). In 1994, when we were not actually watching World Cup matches around the US during that amazing year, my parents and I went to watch matches via satellite in the same ballroom area Governor Palin was in today.
Unfortunately, the area around the meetings and press conferences were impenetrable. I decided to play it cool and go back downstairs, milling around the various reporters and journalists we all of us know so well.
Walking past William Kristol, I smiled and he graciously smiled back. I could've cared less about Dana Bash, and the other soberly suited reporters leaning over their state-of-the-art Macs, typing away their bylines or transcribing their notes -- I saw the son of my personal historian heroine, Gertrude Himmelfarb, and that made me happy.
The following are my impressions, and I will stand by them, even if they turn out to be erroneous as to the names of the people I saw. I'll correct them whenever possible, after checking the guest lists.
Incredibly, there was Governor Tim Pawlenty yet again, a man I've now seen three times in two days. He was certainly a media favourite, it seemed to me.
I wondered if the Franken-Coleman situation was why he was in such great demand, but given the interviews I heard him give (2), which were not exactly sour towards Governor Palin, but they were, shall we say, cool towards her, I wonder just how much he was bothered that there but for the grace of God for Palin, he would've been alongside McCain.
I have no doubt at all that he is positioning himself for 2012.
Speaking of which, I saw our own Governor Charlie Crist, some hours later. He is perhaps the most polished man I have seen next to President-Elect Obama. He gives off precisely the same kind of sleek svelteness, which is very difficult to describe. I noticed that his face is much more leathery than he even shows in photographs. You want to talk tanning beds, there's your guy.
He is not an excitable fellow, but it struck me that almost everyone milling around shared his...oh I don't know -- perhaps irritation, mixed with edgy competitiveness.
There was a definite undercurrent of tension there, which perhaps is common in the US political realm when so many high-powered politicians are congregated in a relatively narrow space, but it was really new to me.
I went to get myself my caramel macchiato at the Starbucks inside the hotel, as the conference was in full swing.
I turned around, and I do believe the person I saw was (of all people) ex-Senator Rick Santorum. If I am right, he was accompanied by an aide, both of them acting oddly. They seemed...self-important. He nudged his way past me, though clearly I was in the queue ahead of him. Then, after perusing the desserts counter, he ironically asked me if I was "standing in line", and with a dry retort, I said yes indeed I was (I have an allergy to people who are queue jumpers).
He and his aide started snickering as they went behind me, perhaps caught off-guard at my accent and formal tone.
In fact, I have to tell you something, my dear Sundries readers. The entire atmosphere of that conference oozed people who acted as if they are self-important. I am used to a certain amount of arrogance. God knows I just admitted I can be too.
But there is a fine line between thinking you're so important, that the basic rules of life do not apply to you -- and this Hotel was bursting at the seems with such people.
To me, this is utterly ridiculous.
Certainly, I am not talking about the actual politicians who were there, who perhaps one can excuse for thinking they are important people. If you're a Governor of an US State, heck yeah, you're important.
I am talking about the dark-suited aides, flunkies, and general gadflies hanging around the politicians. I include in this the reporters on their beat, but since this is a political meeting, I will concentrate on these folks.
Perhaps I caught them on an off-day, but it strikes me that if you are the Party striving to get back into the national discourse, and certainly looking to the Governors for leadership not just politically, but in terms of bearing, that it doesn't do your kind any favours by seeming toffee-nosed.
Having a few relatives in Washington, I have met my fair share of these hangers-on, individually; lobbyists, aides, speech writers, and the like. They are often irritating people, and seem to look down on people given who is in and who is out given that day's news cycle. There is an intensity to their "inside baseball" jockeying for knowledge.
That's precisely the idea I got from this assembly.
If they didn't recognise you (and I am not in the least speaking of me, but the little by-plays I observed), or you were not in the loop, your presence was not coveted. Poor Governor Heineman of Nebraska was practically a nonentity there.
You know another strange shock I got from these many black suited aides? That many of them are really effeminate. Not swishy, you understand, though I did see a few of those. But they behaved in a feminised fashion.
One such fellow was ordering Starbucks for a well-known Governor (he said the name loudly, as if the people overhearing it would be impressed, but I will not reveal it out of discretion), and I realised that the "bag men" tend to be young, handsome, well-dressed to the point of being fashionable (which is different from being elegant, of course).
Perhaps it's understandable that when you are in that position, you need to look well since you're representing someone of note. But I was reminded of the many Buckingham Palace staff I used to meet in the after-hours Ebury Wine Bar, near Victoria Station. The men were all exactly this type of effeminate man, and I think they were hired because they got off being so close to power, and loved being surrounded by opulence.
After a while, so as to draw attention away from my lolly-gagging around, I went to the Indigo restaurant downstairs. To my astonishment, as I sat near the bar, about 20 feet away, almost as if he were in a cubicle, there was I do believe Governor Bobby Jindal. He is much younger-looking than you can imagine. He looks like he's a college freshman, and actually, in profile looked bizarrely similar to a young JFK. He was utterly alone, and since I didn't want to stare, I am not sure if he was having a quiet moment to catch up with news, or if he were on his laptop or what.
What an ascetic air he has!
There is a problem with Jindal's chances to run for the Presidency in 2012, as I see it.
There are some people who give off a certain something (more on that in a bit). Jindal didn't at all give me that impression. He seemed utterly unmagnetic, and though not ordinary, perhaps I was expecting more. Frankly, he was nerdy-looking.
To become a genuine threat to run for the Presidency, especially given the adoration of his followers, and the presence that President-Elect Obama gives off (which is genuine, he truly is impressive up close), I believe you need to be a charismatic person. Jindal looks like a rather earnest priest.
After ordering my lunch, I went back upstairs since Governor Palin's remarks were supposed to be over by that time. I went up the escalators again, and a cop smiled as I went by. Whew.
There were two permanent news stations on either side of the circular area. One was busy interviewing Mike Duncan (hey, I finally saw our fearless RNC leader), whilst the other was getting impressions from an NBC or perhaps MSNBC reporter.
If you have gotten this far in my massively long, and somewhat gossipy post, you are about to be rewarded.
Because this is when I saw Governor Sarah Palin, not 10-15 feet away from me.
Before I tell you my feelings about her, let me just add that I think I have suddenly gotten some inkling as to why feminists, and particularly, feminist journalists dislike her so.
As I saw her speaking to a bevy of these black-suits, I realised a startlingly obvious point which hadn't struck me as fully before: she was the LONE woman of power in that entire area.
Though Governor Linda Lingle was there, I didn't see her. I don't think it would've altered my impression that Sarah Palin is doing the impossible -- she is a force in a profession of raw power which is almost entirely male.
In fact, she is not just a force, she is THE FORCE right now.
As she spoke, I am not kidding you when I say that every eye was either unabashedly on her, or trying to pretend they weren't flat out staring at her.
This was the conversation at the bar, as one overheard whispered conversations in snatches.
"Finally, then Sarah Palin went..." "Did you hear that Sarah Palin said..." "An incredible...Sarah Palin...finished"
Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin. The name was EVERYWHERE.
When I read Bekah's account of meeting Sarah Palin, and Bekah had a far more powerful encounter than my simple clapping eyes on the lady, I recall her saying that she had a glow about her. Well, Bekah, if you are reading this, I will tell you that I wondered if that was right or were you simply too moved that day to be able to read her correctly.
I also am aware that since I do genuinely like her, that I did not want this attitude to influence me either way. I want to give you as neutral an impression as I can about Palin.
But I have to apologise for thinking that, because you were absolutely right, Beks. Sarah Palin has an aura around her that is unbelievable. I have never seen anything quite like it in a politician. I used to scoff at the idea of "rock star" whenever Obama was mentioned, but truly, there are certain people in this world which stand out as super stars. It's like they are illuminated by their own personal spotlight.
And Palin in that group of macho egos, waspish young men and resentful career women was most definitely a rock star.
Her head of hair is enormous, leonine even, giving her very slight body a top-heavy look. She was slightly stooped, and wore a shiny kind of black top which I didn't think flattered her, but she still looked utterly beautiful.
She is not that tall (a running joke on Sundries about her height) so my first jolted thought was, Katie Couric must be a shrimp.
But my second thought was 'wow'.
I kept wondering, was she always like this? Does her recent run as the Vice-Presidential nominee somehow make her stand out from those around her, giving her a glamour they just don't have? I would've loved to have known this woman before 2008.
I remember writing a blogpost after her roll-out called "Sarah Palin Does That To People", where I wrote that she has this force which draws her to some people (like Adam Brinkley, who launched that website about her vice-presidential prospects after her gubernatorial win in 2006) or like Ruth Anne Adams or Benning, both of whom mentioned her to me back in May.
We all of us were dealing with the idea of Sarah Palin, but nevertheless, she clearly had the same effect on people who saw in this small-town girl with the funny regional accent, someone to definitely keep an eye on.
Here is another interesting fact, which in fact, was mentioned by a few commenters, those self-same angry feminists, and Dennis Miller on O'Reilly the other night: Palin is sexy.
Not just sexy, as in she is shapely and cute, but the lady oozes a really startling raw sexuality.
I think this is yet another piece in the puzzle of why she is disliked by so many people, or why Sandra Bernhardt and other lesbians found themselves appalled and yet obsessed by her. There is something of the unattainable about her, which must frustrate them tremendously. One has to be very careful when talking about this aspect of her femininity, because it can be misconstrued. It's a chicken or the egg argument, at that.
Most women traipse a fine line between feeling the need to hide their gender in the workplace, to be less fecund, all in the hopes they will be taken more seriously in their jobs. And in walks Sarah Palin, her five children, the product of a happily married state. It must be indescribably frustrating to them that she doesn't play by other kinds of women-determined 'rules'.
Also, they feel that she should, by all rights, be rather ordinary -- I mean, Wasilla, the town of 7,000 come on, they think. This disappoints people who want her to be mundane, which would allow her to be easily dismissed by them.
But she's not, and they, therefore, cannot. This is the Sarah Palin problem for them: she cannot be torn down so easily. They just don't understand why. She keeps popping up, undeterred, confounding every type of received liberal wisdom.
Another thing is that of all the people in that room, one never got a conceited vibe from her.
She kept leaning into people, rocking back her head in laughter, not just listening to what the guys around her said, but paying attention to what they said. This is probably why many people call her "gracious". Her people skills, in the brief time I saw her working them, were exceptional.
Finally, I would say she also gave off an ambitious vibe.
This is hard to describe because obviously it requires personal knowledge of the woman, which I clearly lack.
But if you've ever seen a person on the make, then you've seen Sarah Palin. I understand now why Lyda Green (her Alaskan nemesis) so dislikes her, and thinks she's "sneaky". She was working that room in no uncertain way.
The Plenary Session started up a bit later, so to buy time, I decided to treat myself to a spa visit upstairs.
The beautifully appointed spa was awash with older ladies in the provided cloth bathrobes, waiting for their massages and manicures inside the Relaxation Room. I have no doubt that I was probably seated next to Governor This or That's wife. For all I know, I could've been next to a future First Lady.
Of course, I asked if Palin had been to the spa, but my attendant was "not interested in politics" as she quietly told me. She pronounced politics like many Spanish people do, incidentally, Paul-LEE-ticks.
No worries. I understand. Not everyone is crazy enough about politics to crash a conference to which she was not invited, for the express purpose of posting a very long, chatty, and perhaps at times inchoate blogpost for her readership.
Because I didn't go there and then write about it just for me.
If that had been the case, I would've taken up that kind of offer from the blogger to get a press pass and do it properly. I no doubt would've written up a more professional post, full of wonkese, and less rambling.
Instead, I wanted to be a fly on the wall for you.
As I said, I stand by my impressions of each of the situations I wrote about, but I have the sensation that if you had been there with me, you would've shared my opinions as I wrote them about each person.
I have only one regret, which my mother (who comically surprised me later by actually crashing the event herself...I guess I know where I get my moxie from) told me continues to be a source of frustration to her.
"Why didn't you take a photo of her??"
"Oh mum, come on. I couldn't do that. I was too embarrassed."
"Don't be weak! I didn't raise you to be weak!" (P.S. my mother hates weak people)
"I didn't want to look...like I didn't belong."
(angry) "You were born belonging!"
Perhaps. Interestingly, this is the moral of this quixotic blogpost about the first time I saw Sarah Palin.
Some people were born belonging. When they have a goal, the idea that it cannot be done doesn't cross their mind. But that's not Sarah Palin's destiny. Palin wasn't born belonging. She made it by sheer brute force of her personality, her will, and ambition to belong.
It struck me that being an outsider is sometimes a blessing in disguise. Whilst others preen themselves on how much of an insider they are, how much more they know than the "little people", and just how important they are because of it, Palin stands there amongst them aware that she is the perpetual outsider.
Outsider because of her gender. Because of where she comes from. Because she doesn't play by the rules she was born to.
Sarah Palin just didn't crash an event. She crashed an entire career.
P.S.: Well, once I came down from my pampering, when the joint had cleared out for their Art Deco tour, I did take some photos. Come on now, I have to be good for something!
ON MY WAY! What a gorgeous 85F sunny SoFla day.
The entrance of the Hotel Intercontinental. Traffic homicide? All hands on deck.
A view of our new skyline. Previously the Freedom Tower, now dwarfed by those downtown condos, was the tallest building to the Northeast of it.
Coast Guard Patrol carefully inspecting the waters. A lot of governors needed to be protected inside.
The CNN station where Sarah Palin was interviewed yesterday by Larry King.
A view of the lobby from above.
You can see some of the "blue-suits" lounging around the atrium. That limestone is very neurotic.
I needed to chill out in the Relaxation Room.
As I left, this policewoman's horse cast me a dirty look. It's like he KNOWS.
I have toyed with Sundries' readers long enough. Here is the much ballyhooed blogpost on the two McCain Rallies!
The first was held on October 17, whilst the second was overnight on November 2/3 -- both were held in two similar but in many ways, very different venues. The October one was at Florida International University's basketball arena. The November one, at the University of Miami's Bank United Centre. The latter was the scene of Senator Obama's rally, which of course, I also attended.
Ladies and gentlemen, I had never before attended an US political rally in my life until 2008.
I had never contributed to a political campaign in my life until 2008.
I had never covered, obsessed over, become depressed and elated by a political campaign in my life until this one in 2008. It seemed my experiences were shared by so many of my fellow Americans, many of whom were so kind as to share these on my blog.
Having said that, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you very humbly for your presence here. I hope that I brought you a measure of comfort, some chuckles, and perhaps even a little basic decency between ideological foes.
Remember, you are not a Republican or a Democrat when you enter the voting booth -- you are an American. And you're an American too, when you leave it.
AND THE WINNER IS...
2004 was amazing, and I'm sure those of you who remember 1972, there are shades of that one today. But I think you will agree: 2008 was a Presidential election year unlike the United States has ever seen. I can't believe that today it is finally over.
Have no fear of an electoral college tie, 269-269. Not going to happen. It's going to be a landslide either way, but for those of you out there who share my politics, know this:
They don't call us the Silent Majority for nothing.
If you haven't, go out and vote NOW. John McCain gave 5 and 1/2 years of his life for his country, and you're telling me you can't spare him and America a few hours of your own?
COUNTRY FIRST
Let me also say this. I may not always have been a great admirer of the Republican nominee's politics, but I love John McCain's campaign slogan.
Whenever I put on my "Country First" t-shirt, and drive around this city, I get thumbs up, happy grins, and a demonstrably patriotic reaction from all concerned. More than one person has approached me to ask me where I bought it (on eBay).
This simple slogan, with its elegant colours and lone star of fighting defiance, pierces the heart of many Americans, some of whom are not even Republicans.
I know. They've told me. Some have even shown me.
Hope? Change? Well, if you like amorphous ideas which have nothing to do with this land, but all to do with ideology, maybe you like that.
But me, I like my country...first.
MCCAIN HEADQUARTERS
It is with this feeling of spilling patriotism that I attended the first rally. Sarah Silverman spoke of the Great Schlepp to Florida in 2008. Well, baby, I made a great schlepp of my own to the heart of McCain's Westchester headquarters, just to get those tickets.
Wow, if I had ever been to that part of Miami, the memory mercifully eludes me.
You have to realise that this is the primary McCain office in Miami. There are others, but this is the biggie. I don't know what I was expecting, but "seedy" and "rundown" were not amongst them. Well do I remember the Bush HQs in 2000/2004 -- centrally located on Coral Way near Little Havana, and beautifully decorated inside. What a difference a nice campaign kitty makes, eh?
I gulped hard at the faded paint on the handrails, and entered. There were no tickets for walk-ins since they had not arrived from the printer's until late in the day (!). But I wrangled two of them anyway.
Hey, I know how to speak to Cubans to get my way when I have to. I count this as a minor miracle, since that was the day after McCain's famous Joe the Plumber debate and two days before Sarah Palin's famous appearance on SNL.
Republicans in Miami were at a fever pitch that week. There was not a ticket to be had in the joint!
ON MY WAY
I had two thoughts when I saw this filling station nearby FIU. It reminded me of Reverend Wright's infamous "AmeriKKKA", but also, I thought what a good omen. Incidentally, forget these prices at this cut-rate generic station. I bought Premium at a Chevron for $2.75 last night. Man, it's like Christmas!
Obviously, Obama protesters had to grace our rally with their presence. But this being Florida, and not hard Left detritus stinkholes like Frisco, we were all laid back about it.
They shouted their inane little slogans at us ("What's wrong with free health care?!" "Down with McBush!" "The US should be like Canada!"), and we shouted our patriotic comebacks ("If you love Canada so much, why don't you move there!", "Nobama!" and this one was mine, "Go drink your Kool-Aid!". I was proud).
It was a knitting circle compared to Berkeley.
The queues were enormous.
Turns out, over 10,000 people made it into that teency arena. Another goof by the campaign.
But when one got inside, you knew you had made it home. America Reagan Country. Absopalinlutely.
Our bitter foes in 2008: Mainstream media turned out to cover the event. Boooo!
You have to understand. This was the FIRST Miami Rally since Palin had come on board, and if you were claustrophic, you were SOL. I was at a prime location up top, about 100 feet away from the podium.
This was at the height of Joe The Plumber Mania. Each sign was a belt 'round the mush to Obama.
Joe Knows Socialism! Joe Can Smell it! Joe Plunges Obama!
(Hehe)
We had many speakers that day. In fact, all of Republican Florida seemed to be there, with the exception of legendary Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. Other than her, we had current Governor Charlie Crist, Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Senator Mel Martinez, even ex-Governor Jeb Bush (yay).
But the one who rocked the hardest, and literally got on all fours on the podium and made a push up (to illustrate some point about Palin!) was Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, Lincoln's little bro. He was also the only one who I heard clearly, since the FIU speakers were a JOKE. I mean, we all know the Golden Panthers are an also-ran to the University of Miami, but come on now.
(A little gratuitous 'Cane-to-FIU bashing, don't mind me)
After all the speeches, a beautiful prayer by a lady (a surprising touch), a Youth Colour Guard came on and we all sang the National Anthem. I will spare you the misfortune of hearing me rasp out these stirring lyrics, but here is how the crowd sounded after we finished.
Yes, if you pay attention, that is me crying out John McCain! John McCain! John McCain! ...but deep inside, I was also bellowing "Sarah Palin! Sarah Palin! Sarah Palin!". You betcha.
We had arrived at 10. Doors opened at 11, and by 2 PM we were all pooped out. Just when our patience had reached its summit, the lights were lowered and on came...JOHN MCCAIN! And Cindy! And perennial "nice guys finish last", Senator Joe Lieberman.
And yes, that is me going "Yayyyy!". Smack me, I'm British. There are limits to my effusiveness.
Outside, apart from the "Blacks Against Obama" group I have already shown you, the usual gaggle of reporters were awaiting the crowd for their reactions. These ladies were being interviewed by local news, and you can see what their platform of support was.
You can tell they're Catholic Pro-Lifers too, since who else but we would carry around a solid gold chaplet?
EARLY VOTING
I tried to vote at least once before Sunday.
Coral Gables Library had a 3 hour wait time according to the Miami-Dade Elections site, so I scooted out of there. Turns out, I would've traded anything to have only stood in line for 3 hours. After all was said and done, I waited 6 hours to vote on Sunday (last day of Early Voting). This is how it looked at 9 PM. It had been utter bedlam at 3 PM.
4.3 million Floridians have voted early, but we have an electorate of 11.2 million. I can ONLY imagine the chaos today at polling stations. Thank God I voted early. *shiver*
UM RALLY
My long day on Sunday wasn't over. After a quick din-din late at night, I decided to get on out to the McCain rally at UM, after all, which had started at 7:30 PM. I didn't know what to expect, but I had my tickets ready just in case it was still going on.
There were two Univ of Miami guards blocking direct access, who dismissed my pleas to enter. "It's packed, no more room". But I sweet-talked my way into the carpack area anyway. I not only have a way around Cubans, but African-Americans too, it seems.
(Incidentally, I believe they acted in bad faith. I heard them mocking McCain supporters when we were filing out of the rally, talking about Obama this and that. If I weren't as strong-willed as I am, and had taken them at their word, I would've gone home and this blogpost area would be empty. Ah well, there are idiots everywhere)
I enter, and what do I see immediately in front of my seat...Marielitos 4 McCain! I almost doubled up laughing.
Marielitos were Cubans who left en masse from Mariel harbour in Havana, when Castro opened the floodgates in 1980. Every shrimping boat, kayak, and flotation device in Miami was shanghaied to bring relatives over during this free-for-all. Those of you who saw "Scarface" remember that Tony Montana was one of these Marielitos.
Say hello to my little friend, Albita!
She was awesome. She started singing at 11 PM, and wasn't done until 12:30 AM. On and on, she kept the crowd going with her songs, in what I presume was a delay tactic because McCain's plane hadn't landed in Miami yet.
Albita is a folkloric singer whose parents were famous back in Cuba. In the early 1990s, she escaped her Cuban handlers during a foreign tour, and defected to the United States. She is, I believe, the only openly lesbian Hispanic singer out there (unless Ricky Martin has come out and I didn't hear about it. And yes, I did just call Ricky Martin a lesbian).
Me, I could give two hoots how she rolls.
She's got an amazing voice, and just the fact that unlike so many recording artists, including may I say, the somewhat disappointing Gloria Estefan (who is thought to be more liberal), she hasn't forgotten which Party have been the champions of Cuban rights all these years -- the Republican Party.
Now, I don't know her song titles worth a darn, but she's singing, "Alza tu bandera...La Patria Primero!" (Raise up your flag...Country First!). They gave her a Cuban flag, but then she wrapped herself with the US flag.
She continued singing, interspersing her songs with the chant of "McCain!", whilst the crowd literally danced with impeccable rhythm in the aisles. Meanwhile, I sat down firmly on my tush, because I have three left feet. I hate being a gringa sometimes.
She wasn't done.
With that infallible logic of stripping away the BS from life which all Cubans have, she made a stunningly simple point in Spanish. Not only did America give her to the right to live freely (read, which her own country sadly did not in its present form) but America allowed her to "practise her culture".
That's so true, and it's odd that I never thought of it quite that way. I include it here even for those who don't speak Spanish, as a testament to her character. You go Albita!
As her cameo stage appearance started to become a full-fledged concert due to the delay, the crowd were entertained by the sight of these "guajiro Cubanos" (country folk, i.e. Cuban rednecks) with their traditional national costume.
I could also further explain "la chambelona" to my American readers, but I think I'll stop for the Cubans who are currently laughing as they read this. Yo los conozco!
But finally, the Mac was not only back, but he brought Meghan, Cindy, and Kelsey Grammer with him too! Follow the red arrow.
Remember that CNN story I linked to, yesterday? Only 1,000 people showed up for him in Tampa, they wrote? Notice how they didn't say one word about the over 12,000 people in the Bank United Centre who waited until the dead of night at 12:30 AM to see him -- and then brought down the house when he was introduced.
Yeah, funny that.
We were still cheering with all our voices when he gave that rousing, barnburning ending of "Stand Up! Stand Up! Fight with me! Nothing is inevitable here! Never give up! We are going to win! This is America and its worth fighting for!".
MY HOME 'TIS OF THEE
No one can truly do justice to what they see and hear with their own eyes and ears. But if I have allowed you a peek into my world during the heady days of the Presidential Campaign of 2008, down here in South Florida, I think I have done my job as a writer.
I want to say one more thing before I close this enormously long blogpost.
Here I am, just one of millions of immigrants who have come to your shores, and found that America has given me more than a home -- it's given me a purpose.
I love this country from the bottom of my heart. And I love it too much, too desperately much to see it distorted. As long as I have breath in my body, I will fight for this country with all the tools I have in my arsenal. I think all real Americans would do the same.
So when you enter the booth on election day, ask yourself this question:
Which of the two candidates of the major Parties listed in front of you, has the same kind of love old Vic over at Sundries has for America?
I think you will find, there is only one answer. Vote McCain as if America depended on it...because, it does.
What will happen on Tuesday, November 4, 2008? Well, I am almost sure that we will have:
But always remember:
UPDATE: Wow! Just went for a drive-by to my regular polling station. No WAITING! It's about a 10-15 minute-wait to vote. Good God. In a way, this makes me happy because the Beach is overwhelmingly liberal. The ones who had to vote, early voted alongside me. The others, probably went real early. In 2004, at no point did my polling station have any kind of lull. NONE. It was packed until 6 PM, solid. Only in the last hour until 7 PM, did we have any kind of slowdown.
We'll see. Remember people. Do not look at exit polls, or pay much attention to results until 9 PM. The networks won't call Pennsylvania for McCain, until the bitter end.
Stay focused! That goes double for me. I'm going to take a nap until 6 PM.
UPDATE: The hottest woman politician in American history voted today, in Wasilla City Hall. She had arrived by jet with Todd Palin, at (get this) Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage. TED STEVENS! That's what these Alaskans were up against all these years with that man. They are well rid of him.
Incidentally, the UPI couldn't resist even the tiniest little dig against her in their headline.
You know, I'm really thinkin' she voted for Cynthia McKinney all the way.
UPDATE: POLLS CLOSED IN SOUTH FLORIDA AT 7 PM. They will begin posting the results at 7:15 at the Miami-Dade Elections site.
I mention our underreported Florida state constitutional amendment which deals with same-sex marriage. That always brings us the social conservatives of each State, hence my rather upbeat tone about Florida.
This is a yard sign photo I took in Coral Gables. It reflects my own vote.
